Split Personality
by Saerphe
Summary: This is my second fic featuring Weaverbird. The Storm Hawks manage to steal a strange crystal from Snipe, but what does it do? All will be revealed when Finn decides to play a practical joke on Piper. Rated T to be safe, some implied AerrowXPiper. R&R plz
1. Chapter 1:A New Crystal

**Hey, guys! Just like I promised, here's my second story featuring Weaverbird (discounting my Christmas oneshot). I came up with this one while watching 'Infinnity', and decided to go for a more humorous approach than in 'Of Dragons and Darkstones'. I don't expect this one to be as long as my last story, and the chapters will likely be shorter as well. Enjoy!**

**PS: I don't own Storm Hawks, but you all already know that don't you?**

_**A New Crystal**_

The Storm Hawks, including their new friend Weaverbird, were once again dodging Snipe and his Talons high above Terra Saharr. The Storm Hawks had managed to swipe a package that Snipe was supposed to retrieve for Master Cyclonis, and were now playing a game of Aerial Keep-Away with it, trying to keep it out of Snipe's hands; Aerrow had it at the moment, but he was being pursued by several Talons.

"Catch!" he called, tossing the package down to Junko. The Wallop caught it easily, and sped off, several Talons on his tail. A jet of flame caught their engines and they went down in a heap. Junko turned and gave a thankful grin to Weaverbird, who grinned back. The Dragoness made a sharp banking turn and took aim at Snipe's Heliblade but Finn pulled ahead of her, his crossbow in hand.

"Allow me." He said smugly, taking aim. Weaverbird snuffed, irritated. But she moved aside anyway. Finn locked on to his target and pulled the trigger. In a flash, the blades were separated from Snipe's ride.

"Oh, Yeah! I'm good!" Finn cheered, punching the air.

"Show off." Weaverbird muttered disdainfully. Snipe opened his parachute, and shaking his fist screamed obscenities at the Storm Hawks as they flew off victoriously.

* * *

Back on the Condor, Finn and Junko shared a 'sky-five' while Piper, Aerrow and Weaverbird opened the parcel. Stork stood well back, in case it was booby-trapped. Piper moved aside the wrapping and lifted out a small crystal.

It was a dull red colour, perfectly spherical, and smooth as glass. Extremely thin and intricate veins of silver formed swirling patterns across its surface. Other than that, though, it was quite plain. There weren't any clues in the wrappings as to what it did either.

"It's pretty, but what does it do?" Aerrow wondered. Piper shrugged. Weaverbird stared at it with her piercing gaze, as if she could make it tell her if she stared long enough.

"I'll run some tests on it and get back to you if I find anything." Piper sighed. Palming the small crystal, Piper returned to her lab; Weaverbird followed in case she could help. Stork retreated to the helm, and Finn and Junko headed to their bunks; all the chores had been done for that day, so they could just relax until dinner.

Aerrow sighed, and followed Piper, all his excitement reserves for the day drained; he loved watching her work. Half the time she didn't even realize he was there.

* * *

**Later that evening…**

Many hours and several tests later, Piper still hadn't figured out what the crystal was. Weaverbird couldn't stop staring at it; it just seemed so familiar to her somehow. She'd check one of her books later; there might be some information in there. Aerrow watched quietly from the doorway.

"Well, I don't know what it is." Piper blew a stray strand of bluish black hair out of her eyes, and shrugged.

"Maybe if we could figure out how to activate it, we could find out what it is?" Weaverbird speculated, rumbling a little at the back of her throat. Piper thought for a moment.

"Well it's obviously not activated by light, sound, or touch…" Piper mused. She pulled out one of her many note books and started scribbling down possibilities, her hair falling into her face again. Aerrow couldn't help grinning. He resolved to get Piper a better hair band for her next birthday. Piper sat back and stretched out her muscles. They all headed to their respective rooms for the night. Aerrow knew Piper would figure it out eventually.

They would all figure it out, sooner than they expected.

**Thanks for reading, and stay tuned! Please review as well!**


	2. Chapter 2: A Practical Joke

**Hello, all my faithful readers:) **

**Here's chapter 2. This is where the wheels are really starting to turn now. On with the story!**

_**A Practical Joke**_

Finn tried to stifle a snigger as he crept down the Condor's dark hallways. He was planning to play a joke on Piper; she was always so uptight about her crystals, he couldn't wait to see the look on her face when a few went missing.

Finn eased the door to Piper's crystal lab open silently. Rooting around the lab, he pocketed several crystals and turned to leave, but something caught his eye. The crystal they had stolen from Snipe glittered temptingly on Piper's desk. Grinning, Finn snatched it and snuck away.

Reaching the safety of his own bunker, Finn examined the strange crystal. It was rather pretty, even Finn had to admit that. Staring at his clock, Finn found it was almost seven o' clock in the morning. He subtly switched off the alarm, and flopped down on his bed. No one would blame him if his alarm didn't go off. Just as he was about to close his eyes, the crystal he'd snitched gave a flash of white light; there was a blast of wind and a rushing in Finn's ears before he blacked out.

* * *

Junko was leaning against the wall on the bridge, slurping a bottle of who-knows-what from who-knows-where. Aerrow cast his gaze around the bridge, Radarr perched on his shoulder. Weaverbird was gazing out the window, her blue eyes glazed. Piper was in her lab, planning on running more tests on the strange crystal. Stork was piloting the Condor of course. Finn was no where to be found. 

"Where's Finn?" Aerrow asked finally. Weaverbird looked at him and shrugged, rustling her wings. Junko and Stork followed suit. An enraged scream issued from Piper's room, making them all jump.

"FINN! Where is he?! I'm gonna murder him!" Piper seethed, storming onto the bridge. Junko and Stork shrunk away nervously, Even Weaverbird backed up a step. Aerrow sighed, rubbing his temples. He didn't have time for this.

"Okay, what happened?" Aerrow asked. Piper rounded on him, and he retreated a step or two. Or three. There was a fire in her amber eyes that Aerrow rarely saw. He felt sorry for Finn, when Piper got hold of him.

"Finn snuck into my room and stole a bunch of my crystals!" Piper hissed, "Even the one we stole from Snipe!" Aerrow placed a hand on the navigator's shoulder, trying to get her to calm down. She immediately felt her blazing anger reduce to a flicker at the sky knight's touch.

"I'll go talk to him," Aerrow assured her, "I'm sure it was just a prank, but he won't get off so easy this time." He strode off of the bridge authoritively. Piper sighed; sometimes there was just no living with the sharpshooter.

"I hope Finn's written his will," Stork muttered under his breath, "because he'll be so doomed next time this happens." Weaverbird heard this, and had to agree. She'd hate to see what Piper would be like if she were a Dragon.

"Good mornin' Aerrow!" came Finn's cheery greeting when they passed each other in the hall. Aerrow grabbed his shoulder, spinning the sharpshooter around to face him.

"You might want to give Piper her crystals back, she's really mad at you, you know." Finn only continued to look bright and cheerful, which was odd. He was usually dead tired this time of day.

"What an awful morning, it's freezing in here! Can't someone turn up the thermostat?" Finn demanded grumpily from behind Aerrow. Taking a moment to register who had spoken, Aerrow whirled around. Another Finn had just stomped down the hall and onto the bridge. Looking at the Finn he had just chased down, Aerrow put two and two together.

"What did you do?" He sighed softly. Turning on his heel, Aerrow led the other Finn onto the bridge.

* * *

Piper and the other Finn were bristling at each other. They looked about to come to blows when Aerrow and Finn 2 (as he decided to call him) entered the bridge. There were a series of double takes as the other Storm Hawks tried to register that there was more than one Finn in the vicinity. Piper rounded on Finn 1. 

"What did you do?" She hissed dangerously. Yet another Finn (Finn 3) just shrugged.

**Finn, what are they going to do with you? Just stay tuned, things get more interesting from here! Bye!**


	3. Chapter 3: Split

**Hi, I'm back with chapter three! We get more into what the new crystal does in this chapter, but you can probably guess from the title. I'm not going to tell you anyway, it'd ruin the story for you. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter, R&R please:)**

_**Split**_

"It's a lot like the time Finn cloned himself," Piper said, "Every single one is an exact duplicate of Finn." They were all standing in Piper's lab, examining the crystal and the multiple Finns. Weaverbird was leafing through one of her books; you could barely see the Dragoness' face.

"So it's another Cloning crystal?" Aerrow asked. Piper shook her head.

"The structure of this crystal is completely different," she sighed, "And we already know that it's not activated by direct sunlight, so it couldn't be a cloning crystal." Piper rubbed the back of her neck; all these Finns were giving her a headache.

"So which one's the real Finn?" Junko asked, looking around at all the Finns.

"All of them." Weaverbird answered simply. The other Storm Hawks turned to stare at her. She continued, "The crystal we took is extremely rare; it automatically activates at sunrise. Whoever's holding it at the time gets… Split, shall we say. Each Finn is a physical manifest of the facets of the original Finn's personality." The other Storm Hawks just stared at Weaverbird blankly. She sighed exasperatedly.

"You know what I heard?" said Finn 4, "Blah blah blah, something about crystals, blah blah blah, something about the sun." Piper glared at him.

"Each of these Finns represents one of the original Finn's emotions. QED, all of them are the real Finn." Weaverbird elaborated. Comprehension dawned on the Storm Hawks' faces. Aerrow frowned.

"Is there a way to reverse it?" He asked. Weaverbird scanned the page of her book.

"Not with this crystal," she began, "But there's another one that can. It's the exact opposite of this crystal, and automatically activates at sunset."

"Great! Do you know where it is?" Aerrow inquired. Weaverbird flipped a page in her book, and buried her muzzle in it for a few moments.

"It says that both the crystals originated on terra Maya," Weaverbird mmrred, "It's hidden somewhere in one of the temples there, but it doesn't say where or which temple it's in either." Piper moaned, putting her face in her hands.

"What is it Piper?" Aerrow asked apprehensively; if Piper reacted like that, it didn't bode well for them.

"Terra Maya is all the way across the Atmos from here," Piper groaned, "And it's famous for its temples. Every last one of them is like a labyrinth, and they're loaded with traps. It also doesn't help much that they're all hidden deep in the jungle and are almost impossible to find." The leader of the Storm Hawks visibly sagged at this piece of information. Then he straightened up, squaring his shoulders.

"Alright then. Piper, chart a course to terra Maya. Stork, just get us there safely. Junko, Radarr, you two try to keep all these Finns out of trouble." Everybody shot off to their respective posts. Junko and Radarr started touring the Condor and shepherding all the Finns onto the hangar bay, hoping they would stay out of trouble there.

'_Knowing Finn,_' Aerrow thought to himself, '_he'll manage to get in trouble anywhere._'

* * *

Junko had managed to label almost all of the Finns. It was considerably easier than when he cloned himself, since you only needed to talk to one to find out which Finn was which. So far, Finn 1, Finn 2, Finn 3, and Finn 4 had resolved into Grouchy, Cheerful, Clueless and Sarcastic respectively. Junko had also managed to find: Sad, Love, Hate, Angry, Confused, Mischievous, Submissive ("He has that emotion?" Weaverbird purred.), Composed, Insane ("Gorge Madness…" Stork said, stepping away from the madly giggling Finn), Annoyed, Hyperactive, Lazy, Motivated, Vain, Rebellious and several others they hadn't figured out yet.

"And here I was thinking that Finn had the emotional range of a teaspoon." Piper mused as the Finns paraded past her. Aerrow shrugged.

"Let's just hope that's all we have to deal with," Stork remarked, "Because if there are too many more Finns aboard, the Condor will be too heavy to fly. And we'll all have major headaches." They all agreed fervently. Especially Piper. After that was taken care of, they meandered off to their posts; Junko and Radarr in the hangar bay with Finn's emotions, and Aerrow, Piper, Weaverbird and Stork to the bridge

And so, with all the Finns out of the way, the Storm Hawks streaked off to terra Maya as the sun set.

**Wow, Finn has more complex emotions than I thought! Then again, maybe he just doesn't use them all. -shrugs- Oh well. Chapter 4 is in the works, so stay tuned!**


	4. Chapter 4: Conflicting Emotions

**Hi guys! Here's chapter 4! It's sort of more of a nothing chapter than anything else. There's a little info in here that could well be crucial later, but I'm not telling if it is or not; you have read and find out for yourselves! Suggestions are always welcome. I will credit you if I use them.**

_**Conflicting Emotions**_

It had been a few days since Finn had split himself. Aerrow walked into the kitchen to find Weaverbird helping Junko press ice packs to various bruises. The Wallop looked pretty run down. Aerrow winced; he hurt just looking at Junko.

"What happened?" Aerrow asked concernedly. Junko glanced over at him forlornly.

"It seems that the Finns are getting more and more aggressive." Weaverbird sighed, checking for a concussion.

"They attacked you?!" Aerrow cried incredulously. Junko winced, and the sky knight asked more quietly, "Couldn't you have defended yourself?"

"Finn's my friend; I wouldn't hurt him," Junko replied, "and besides, they weren't really beating me up; I was just trying to break up a fight between the Hate Finn and the Love Finn, and then again with the Happy Finn and the Angry Finn, and then the Coward Finn and the Brave Finn…" the Wallop trailed off, pressing an ice pack to his head harder.

"Those are all opposite emotions…" Aerrow said thoughtfully. Weaverbird nodded.

"Obviously, the opposite emotions get more aggressive with each other as time progresses," Weaverbird said, "It probably doesn't help that they're all cooped up in the hangar bay all the time."

"We have to stop and refuel soon, so the Finns can stretch their legs a bit," Aerrow assured them, "We'll just have to keep a really close eye on them to make sure none of them wander off. Junko, why don't you lie down until we get there? Weaverbird and I will keep an eye on the Finns for you." Junko nodded drowsily and trudged off to his room. Aerrow watched him go, concern etched in his green eyes.

"Is he gonna be okay?" he asked Weaverbird. She nodded.

"Just some bruising and a conk on the head. He'll be a little stiff tomorrow and will have a heck of a headache for a while, but other than that he's just fine." Aerrow nodded; the last thing he needed was for his mechanic to be out of commission. Aerrow and Weaverbird headed off to the hangar bay, bracing themselves for whatever chaos would ensue.

* * *

Now that Junko had left, nothing was stopping the opposite Finns from beating on each other furiously. Even the Pacifist Finn was fighting, but it was probably safe to say that Aggression was winning. There were a few that were tied up; Junko must have started binding them with ropes so they couldn't fight. There were still several lengths of rope lying around. It was incredible that none of the Finns had started strangling each other yet. 

"I'll take the right side of the hangar, you take the left." Aerrow sighed.

"I'm on it." Weaverbird sighed back. This was going to be a long day.

Picking up a length of rope, Aerrow dove into the fray. He rugby-tackled Aggression, making him release his hold on Pacifist. Then he quickly tied up the rogue emotion with one hand, using the other to hold down his quarry. Weaverbird hardly needed to pin Hate down while she tied him up; just growling was enough to keep him from moving from where he lay.

This continued for several hours until all the Finns were tied up. The ropes were only long enough to pin their arms to their bodies, so Aerrow and Weaverbird made sure to space the Finns out far enough so that they couldn't kick each other.

"Sorry Finns," Aerrow said, nursing several bruises of his own, "but it's for your own good." He and Weaverbird sat up against the wall, trying to ignore the various threats shouted at them by Finn's emotions. Weaverbird toyed with the idea of gagging them. They could hardly wait until they got to the Wayside Café.

* * *

Stork discreetly parked the Condor out back of the café, so that the Finns could walk around a bit without being seen. They were still tied up, so they were led out with the ends of the ropes. Piper and Weaverbird were watching them, Weaverbird having taken the form of Weaver, a blue haired blue eyed teenage girl in a blue Storm Hawks uniform. Her crystal collar was once again a sapphire pendant, her wings and tail (she still couldn't fully shift into human form) curled and folded to look like a blue cape and matching belt. The Finns wandered around the parking lot, grumbling to themselves. 

"I hope Stork makes this quick," Weaverbird muttered to Piper, "Without my full crystal, I won't be able to hold this form for nearly as long as I could last time. And I doubt the patrons here would react well to a ten foot long, eight foot tall Dragon with a twenty foot wingspan." Piper was about to ask what Weaver meant by her full crystal when she remembered; Weaverbird had used a piece of her Dragon crystal to heal Aerrow when he was mortally wounded in battle. It was a very small piece, but then, it was a very powerful crystal.

"Speak of the devil." Piper said as Stork, Aerrow and Junko rounded the corner with several crates of engine crystals. Once the Condor was refueled, Aerrow helped Piper and Weaverbird herd all the Finns back onto the ship.

"Do you think they burned off enough energy?" Aerrow muttered to Piper. She laughed.

"Are you kidding? If the original Finn was any indication, I doubt that all these ones have burned off any. Except maybe the sleepy Finn." They sighed simultaneously, and returned to the Condor. Terra Maya was less than another day's trip away. Hopefully, there would soon be one Finn and fewer headaches than there were now.

**There it is, Chapter 4! Like I said before, suggestions are welcome, I still need more meat in this story. I know more or less what I'm going to do when they get to terra Maya, but if you want to read about a little more chaos on the Condor, I'm gonna need ideas. Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5: Escapees

**Wow, that was probably the longest gap between my story updates ever! Sorry it took so long guys, but this week has been hectic what withall these final projects for school, and studying for exams next week, and battling a severe case of writer's block.. I have math on Wedsnday, and history on Thursday, _and_ an art project due on the 29th. But after my written exams, I have like a week off from school! Yay!**

** I wouldn't expect any more chappies 'till Thursday, but I'll try!**

**PS: I would like to thank LostLyra for giving me an idea; I'll use it in an upcoming chappie, I promise!**

_**Escapees**_

The Storm Hawks awoke the next day to find the Condor was once again full of Finns. Somehow one of them (probably Helpful) had managed to untie himself and all the other Finns while the other Storm Hawks were sleeping. Aerrow, Stork and Piper entered the bridge to find several Finns wandering around.

"I wonder what this does." Inquisitive Finn uttered those fateful words, and pulled some unknown lever. The Condor promptly pulled into a nose dive, heading straight for the wastelands. Stork rushed over, pushed Inquisitive out of the way, and righted the Condor's course. But not before everyone ended up falling all over each other into a dog pile. Aerrow carefully extracted himself from the pile of (mostly) Finns, and helped Piper do the same.

"How did this happen?" Piper asked, frustrated. Aerrow ran his fingers through his crimson hair with a sigh.

"The Finns must have untied themselves somehow." He replied, equally frustrated, "I guess Weaverbird and I need to practice our knot tying." Meanwhile, Inquisitive had approached the helm again and was eyeing a dashboard full of blinking buttons.

"Ooohhh," he muttered, reaching for a large green one. Aerrow and Piper steeled themselves to tackle the Finn out of the way, but Stork got there first; quick as a flash, he pulled a lever and a mechanical fist shot out of the wall, knocking Inquisitive head over heels.

"And you said that would never come in handy." Stork said smugly. Piper and Aerrow exchanged glances; the latter shrugged. An angry Weaverbird stalked onto the bridge, Cowardly dangled by his shirt, gripped in the Dragon's jaws.

"The Mean Finn dared me to do it!" he blurted out, terrified that the Dragoness would burn him to a crisp. Weaverbird dropped him, and he cowered on the floor.

"What did he do?" Aerrow sighed. Weaverbird pawed the floor in annoyance.

"He snuck into my quarters and messed with all my herbs!" she huffed.

"You caught him doing this?" Aerrow asked.

"Didn't need to; just look at his hands. They've been stained with yew berry juice." Weaverbird replied. Cowardly held up his hands sheepishly. Weaverbird was right; the Finn's hands were stained a deep shade of red.

"That gives a whole new meaning to the phrase 'Caught red-handed'." Piper mused.

"You are extremely lucky," Weaverbird growled softly, "Or perhaps not. The fact that you didn't ingest any of the yew berries leaves me free to kill you instead; the berries are extremely poisonous if used incorrectly." Cowardly hid his face in his red-stained hands.

"Please don't kill me." He whimpered. Weaverbird rumbled menacingly at the back of her throat.

"Oh, I won't kill you," she replied, "_yet_." The Dragoness said under her breath, her blue eyes filled with menace. Stork interrupted them all.

"Um, guys?" he called from the helm, "It looks like we're approaching terra Maya." The Merb pointed out the Condor's window at a massive jungle-covered terra. Aerrow groaned; it would take them ages to find the reversing crystal in all that. He shook it off; they would do what they needed to do and get out. That was all he had time for now.

* * *

"Okay, here's the plan," Aerrow started. The Storm Hawks were all gathered around the conference table, looking over the map of the terra, "We're going to split up into teams. Piper and I will take the northern half of the terra. Junko and Weaverbird will take the south. Stork and Radarr will stay here and try to keep all the Finns out of trouble. We need to keep them all here on the ship, because if even one goes missing, we won't be able to fix Finn."

"We'll stay in touch with everyone via radio link," Piper continued, picking up where Aerrow left off, "When one of us finds the crystal, call the others and head back to the Condor. Try to get back before sunset, if you can, because that's when the crystal activates; and I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that I can't stand all these Finns much longer than another day." Everyone nodded vigorously. Except the Finns.

* * *

Stork watched as the other Storm Hawks descended towards terra Maya. Turning away from the window, he watched as all of Finns emotions started beating on each other again. Radarr whimpered exasperatedly. Stork looked at the little sky monkey and voiced the phrase they were both thinking.

"We're doomed."

**So there you have it; chapter 5! Hope y'all enjoyed it. Please review:D**


	6. Chapter 6: Terra Maya

**Hello all my faithful readers! Thanks for reviewing!**

**This must be one of my efficient days or something, I've got chapter 6 as well as five. Unfortunately, I seem to have once again succumbed to writer's block. I have a basic idea for what happens next, but if anyone would like to give me suggestions, they would be most welcome. I will credit you for them.**

**Anywho, On with the story:D**

_**Terra Maya**_

Aerrow and Piper were zigzagging through the jungle of terra Maya on their sky rides, dodging trees, vines, and some very large, very freaky-looking flowers. They only stopped to rest twice. It was getting late, and Aerrow was eager to get going near the end of their third stop. He watched the sky turning slowly from blue to gold. At least, as much of the sky as he _could_ see through the thick canopy.

"We're gonna have to make camp soon," Piper broke Aerrow out of his reveries, "It would be crazy, even for you Aerrow, to ride around the terra in pitch darkness." Aerrow sighed; he knew Piper was right.

"I hope the others are having more luck than we are." Aerrow breathed, stretching out his cramped muscles. A twig snapped in the dark forest behind him, and he turned, his green eyes searching.

"What is it Aerrow?" Piper asked apprehensively. He drew his energy blades and activated them.

"Thought I heard something," Aerrow replied, "get behind me." Piper moved back, and Aerrow brandished the glowing blade at the trees, trying to see what made the noise. He ventured out of the clearing and into the forest, glancing every which way.

Satisfied that nothing was there, Aerrow lowered his weapons and turned back to the clearing. However, he didn't see the unusually thick vine draped right in front of him. The vine caught the sky knight in its clutches, and Aerrow was pulled up into the trees with a startled yelp. He dropped his energy blades, and they fell, glowing dimly, to the forest floor.

"Aerrow!" Piper shrieked in alarm. She rushed to where her leader had been standing and looked up. Aerrow was caught in the coils of, what appeared to be, a giant snake. Its beady grey eyes stared into Aerrow's, and he found himself paralyzed in fear, his hands fell limp beside the animal's flanks. The patterns on the snake's scales made it look exactly like an overly thick vine, so there was no wonder Aerrow had run right into it. Piper could only watch helplessly as the enormous serpent gripped Aerrow in its coils and squeezed.

* * *

Meanwhile, Weaverbird and Junko darted through the trees; they weren't having any luck either. Junko was glad that the Dragoness' was with him. They had heard a few large animals around them since they left Junko's skimmer by the big carved tablet they'd found, but not one of the animals had come near them. They probably decided it wasn't worth the risk. Junko looked down at his hooves and briefly wondered if he _did_ taste as good as the jungle animals seemed to think he did. He resolved to find out later.

* * *

Stork and Radarr weren't having much luck either. The Condor was anchored to the underside of a large cliff. Somehow, Daring had managed to crawl out of an open window and was on the Condor's roof. Common Sense was up there too, trying to talk him out of doing something stupid. The other Finns were making a mess of Stork's beloved ship.

"Are we sure that that's Daring up on the roof and not Suicidal?" Stork said to Radarr as they made their way out onto the runway, hoping to intercept the emotion before he could finish the escapade. Radarr just mmrred and shrugged. The Merb sighed; this was going to be a long day.

* * *

Aerrow tried to cry out, but he couldn't; there was no air left in his lungs. Stars burst in front of his eyes as the snake squeezed him even harder. There was a loud cracking noise and a sharp pain through his ribs, but Aerrow felt it in a sort of detached way. His vision was darkening around the edges, and he felt light-headed. Aerrow's body screamed for oxygen.

Piper shook herself out of her paralysis and rushed to her Heliscooter, searching desperately for her staff. She found it and jammed a Freezer crystal into it the end of the weapon. Sprinting back, Piper took careful aim and fired a blast of cold air at the snake. Its body went limp instantly. Aerrow slipped through the snake's coils and fell to the ground, unconscious.

Piper rushed to her leader's side. Aerrow was alive; Piper thanked whatever higher power that gave the sky knight his incredible streak of luck. Piper gripped him under the arms and dragged him back to their vehicles, picking up Aerrow's blades along the way. Quickly pulling together a shelter of branches and piling some large leaves on top of it, Piper dragged Aerrow underneath, waiting for him to wake up.

* * *

With Radarr's help, Stork had managed to round up the Finns, and locked groups of them in various rooms on the Condor. Several of them were in the Infirmary (also known as Weaverbird's quarters. The spacious bedroom off to the side had been converted specially for the Dragoness to use). Stork made sure to lock up all of Weaverbird's herbs where the Finns couldn't find them. Several of the milder Finns were locked in Aerrow's quarters, them being the most spacious on the ship. The rest were locked in Piper's room, the second largest room.

Trying to ignore the pounding of one of the more aggressive Finns on the other side of Piper's door, Stork fervently hoped that they would find the crystal they needed soon.

* * *

Aerrow opened his eyes to see Piper leaning over him concernedly. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that her leader was awake. He tried to sit up, but Piper gently forced him back down. It was then that Aerrow noticed that his shirt and armor had been removed.

"Sorry," Piper blushed a bit, "but I needed to check for any broken bones. I'm not as good at it as Weaverbird though, so I still couldn't tell." Aerrow laid back, allowing Piper to check again. She pressed her fingers lightly to his ribs, and he cried out in pain. Piper felt the bile rise in her throat when she heard a very faint clicking sound.

"Yeah, definitely broken." Piper affirmed. Aerrow hissed through his teeth; everywhere there wasn't a broken rib, there was massive bruising. "You can't continue like this." Piper told him. He shook his head stubbornly.

"You can't keep searching alone either," Aerrow replied, "and there's absolutely no way Stork will venture out of the Condor into the jungle with you to help." Piper sighed; he was right, she knew, but she hated when Aerrow got like this.

"I don't know anything about setting broken bones either," Piper groaned, "I wish Weaverbird were here." Aerrow didn't say anything to that. In truth, he was thinking the same thing. He tried to breathe deeply, to clear his head, but it sent a sharp pain shooting through his ribs. Aerrow winced, trying to shift into a more comfortable position. Piper helped him to slowly sit up.

Striding over to her heliscooter, Piper rummaged around for her first aid kit. Finding it, she searched through it until she found some bandages. Piper helped Aerrow bind up his chest tightly, in the hopes that Weaverbird could set the broken ribs when they returned to the Condor. With that they continued on their search for the sunset crystal.

**Well, that's it. As I said before, suggestions are most welcome. Darn writer's block doesn't want to go away:( Well, I hope that this keeps you guys busy until thursday afternoon. I'll try to update before the weekend is over, but we'll see. I have to come up with something first.**

**Bye-bye, and hope to see y'all soon!**


	7. Chapter 7: Anphitere

**Yay, I managed to get chapter 7 up before the weekend was over! In this chappie, the gang meets another cousin of Dragons (Like the Wyrms in my last story) Enjoy!**

_**Anphitere**_

A creature that looked like a winged serpent watched from the safety of the trees as Piper helped Aerrow bind up his several broken ribs. There was the scent of Dragon crystal on the red headed boy and the creature wanted to know why. So he followed the two strange humans through the jungle as they drove off towards the southern half of the terra.

* * *

Weaverbird stopped, her ears pricked. She could have sworn that she heard the rustling of feathers high above the trees. '_Silly,_' the Dragoness thought to herself, '_there are large colourful birds all over this terra. That must be all I'm hearing._' But she still wasn't sure. Junko stopped and turned, seeing that Weaverbird had fallen a fair distance behind him. He loped over, looking up into the trees. 

"What's up?" he asked. Weaverbird didn't answer; instead, she jumped up into the branches and clambered into the trees. There was a loud squawk of surprise, silence, then a series of clicks, whistles and chirrups. When Weaverbird descended from the canopy, she was accompanied by a coppery-pink serpent-like creature.

It had shiny pinkish feathers; they seemed stiff and hard like Weaverbird's scales, but also soft and downy. It raised the crest on its head and stretched out to look at the Wallop, curiosity filling its dark soulful eyes.

"This is Kiita," Weaverbird introduced the winged serpent, "She's an Anphitere **(AN: for those who are wondering, it's pronounced AN-feh-teer)** a relative of Dragons. They are native to this terra; the Mayans used to worship them as the embodiment of one of their gods." Junko gazed back at the creature, admiring how shiny her 'sceathers' were. The Anphitere purred and preened herself, quite obviously flattered. Weaverbird laughed.

"She says that she can show us the way to the sunset temple," Weaverbird continued, "That's where the crystal we need to fix Finn is hidden." Junko grinned. It sounded like their mission was about to get a lot easier now that they had a guide. With a cheerful chirp, Kiita slithered away into the jungle, waving the tuft of copper feathers on her tail as she went.

* * *

Stork winced at the sound of breaking glass emanating from Piper's room. He and Radarr had checked up on the other Finns who were behaving fairly well, but he was too afraid to check on the Finns in Piper's room. Stork and Radarr exchanged nervous glances. 

"Ooohhh, man," Stork sighed, "If we weren't doomed before, we definitely are now." Radarr nodded emphatically; Piper would be furious when she got back. Who knew what those Finns were destroying?

So the two just stood outside the door, resigned to their inevitable fate.

* * *

"So what kind of snake was that?" Aerrow winced, massaging his ribs. They had stopped for their first break of the second day on terra Maya. Piper flipped through her copy of '_The Authoritive Guide to_ _Atmosian Flora and Fauna_'. Finding the section on terra Maya, she scanned the first few pages. 

"It was a Mayan python," Piper replied, "It lives in the canopy, and comes down once a week or so to feed on large animals such as deer, large birds, and occasionally crocodiles. It kills its prey by constricting it. In other words, squeezing the life out of it."

"As if I didn't know that already." Aerrow replied sarcastically. Piper grinned sheepishly. The leaves rustled overhead. Aerrow and Piper took no notice of it. At least, not until a large winged serpent slithered gracefully down to the forest floor.

"Oh, not more snakes!" Aerrow groaned. He drew his energy blades. The creature hissed uncertainly. Piper gasped and grabbed Aerrow's shoulder to stop him from attacking.

"Aerrow, that's an Anphitere!" Aerrow gave her a confused look. Piper elaborated, "They're cousins of the Dragons. They were thought to be a myth for eons; an old Mayan legend. They must be really rare if no one's seen them for over a thousand years!" Aerrow lowered his weapons slightly, staring suspiciously into the Anphitere's eyes. It flicked its forked tongue inquisitively, and met the sky knight's green gaze. The Anphitere's almost-black eyes seemed to be trying to ask Aerrow something. Aerrow sheathed his blades and cautiously approached the creature.

It had stiff acid-green feathers, with a few crimson ones mixed in on the crest on its head. A tuft of dark green feathers tipped the Anphitere's tail. Its eyes were dark and full of character.

The Anphitere gently nosed Aerrow's chest, its wide nostrils flaring. Yes, there was definitely the smell of Dragon crystal on him. Sending a tendril of thought towards the sky knight's consciousness, the Anphitere put out his question. Aerrow could feel the inquiry reverberating through his bones; it made his ribs twinge a bit.

"He wants to know why I smell like Dragon crystal," Aerrow called to Piper. She was about to ask how he knew this, but decided not to; things had gotten much weirder since Weaverbird had joined them.

Aerrow tried to answer the Anphitere, but he didn't understand what Aerrow was saying. Reaching out to the Anphitere with his mind, Aerrow tried to convert his story from words into pictures. It was hard though, and Aerrow was starting to feel a little light headed. He staggered and Piper caught him under his arms and supported him.

"What's wrong?" Piper asked. Aerrow shook his head, trying to clear away the dizziness. Then he realized.

"Piper, I think we may have planned out our search parties badly," Aerrow replied weakly; the strength was flowing out of his limbs faster than water flowed out of an upturned cup, "I forgot that since she used a piece of her crystal to heal me, that Weaverbird and I can't go farther than twenty ticks from each other anymore." Piper groaned; terra Maya was definitely larger than twenty ticks, and there was no telling how far away Weaverbird and Junko were from their current positions. Part of her was angry that Aerrow hadn't mentioned this before.

The shard of crystal embedded in Aerrow's chest throbbed and he gasped. However this also made his broken ribs hurt, which didn't help much. Aerrow gritted his teeth against the pain, as Piper laid him gently on the ground. The Anphitere watched concernedly, rustling his wings. He slithered over and took a closer look at Aerrow, wondering if there was anything he could do to help.

Piper looked at the Anphitere and thought a moment. Picking up a stick, she drew a circle in the dirt, covering it with swirls and spirals. The Anphitere regarded the picture for a moment, his head cocked.

"Do you know where this is?" Piper asked slowly, enunciating each word carefully. Piper thought that if the Anphitere could smell the small shard of crystal within Aerrow, then they could definitely smell Weaverbird. Piper guessed that Weaverbird and Junko had already met an Anphitere, and had probably asked it to guide them to the sunset crystal's location.

The Anphitere stared at Piper's drawing a little longer and nodded slowly. He turned to leave the clearing, flicking his tufted tail to indicate that they should follow. Piper helped Aerrow up and onto her heliscooter; it was more maneuverable than his skimmer anyway. With that, Piper and Aerrow followed the Anphitere towards the western side of the terra.

* * *

Weaverbird stopped, her awareness of Aerrow fading. '_Shoot!_' the Dragoness cursed herself, '_I've wandered too far from him!_' She called to Kiita, asking for a stop. The copper-pink Anphitere cocked her head questioningly. Weaverbird only replied that they had to wait for some of their friends to meet them. Nodding, the female Anphitere coiled up on the forest floor to wait. 

"We're stopping?" Junko asked, "Why?" Weaverbird turned to the Wallop.

"We need to wait for Aerrow and Piper; we might need their help to get through the temple. Can you call them for me? Tell them we'll wait for them at the temple." Junko nodded, plucking the radio from his belt.

"Guys? We've got someone to help us find the crystal." Junko called through the radio.

"We do too," Piper replied, her voice crackling a bit, "Aerrow's been hurt, is there somewhere we can meet you guys?" Junko frowned a little, his grey eyes worried.

"Weaverbird says we can meet at the temple. You guys okay?"

"We'll be fine, Aerrow's asleep for now," Piper's reassured the mechanic, "See you there. Piper, out." The radio went silent. Kiita looked at the radio, interested. Weaverbird nodded, lost in thought. The trio continued west, towards the sunset temple

**Oh boy, I just know I'm gonna get a chorus of 'Poor Aerrow's from this chappie :)I seem to have this sick fascination for torturing Aerrow. Don't ask why, I don't know myself. Figures. :P Seems to work well with the AerrowXPiper aspect of some stories (not just mine) though. :) Hope to see y'all on thursday afternoon! Possibly Friday... We'll see. My imagination needs to recuperate. Bye:) **


	8. Chapter 8: The Temple

**Yay! My exams are finally over! Dances around Weaverbird in a circle, earning a weird look from the Dragoness Just have to finish my art project, get some bloodwork done :P, and I'm free until the fouth of February!**

**Anywho, here's (Finally) chapter 8. On with the Story!**

**PS: BKipper, you got your wish! ;)**

**PPS: I don't own Storm Hawks, but I know that and you know that, so why even bother saying it? **

_**The Temple**_

Junko, Weaverbird and Kiita were sitting on the steps of the sunset temple when they heard the unmistakable whirr of a heliscooter's engines. Piper burst through the trees, led by a green feathered Anphitere. Kiita cried out happily, slithering up to the other Anphitere and nuzzling his face.

"Aaww!" Junko sighed. The two winged serpents were adorable. Piper clambered off of her ride and helped Aerrow do the same. He had woken up since they got back within twenty ticks of Weaverbird. The Dragoness nosed the sky knight gently; he winced when Weaverbird's snout came in contact with his broken ribs.

"Yes, definitely at least three broken or fractured ribs. What have you been doing?" Weaverbird asked sternly, staring at Aerrow with piercing blue eyes. He grinned sheepishly.

"Ran into a Python." He muttered, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. Weaverbird shook her head. Junko winced, rubbing his own ribs.

"Well, I can't set them here; we'll have to patch you up when we get back to the Condor. After we get the sunset crystal. Come on, let's go." Weaverbird turned and trotted towards the pyramid, loping up the steps with relative ease. Aerrow started to follow, but Piper grabbed his shoulder and spun him around a little forcefully. There was a slightly hurt look in her carnelian eyes.

"Aerrow why didn't you tell me about…" she trailed off, covering her heart with one hand to indicate the shard of Dragon crystal embedded somewhere in the sky knight's chest. Aerrow looked away, his eyes downcast.

"Well, I don't know… I guess I just… Well," Aerrow sighed, took a deep breath and started again, "I didn't want you to worry about me." The teen looked away awkwardly. Piper stepped to the side, forcing Aerrow to make eye contact.

"With all the crazy stunts you do, it's impossible not to worry about you," Piper replied frankly, "Besides, if I had known this, we could have planned the mission better." Aerrow hated to see the hurt look in his navigator's eyes, but he didn't look away this time.

"Are you two coming?" Weaverbird warbled, "We've got a crystal to find and only a few hours to do it in!" Aerrow looked up; Weaverbird was right. The sky was starting to get a tinge of gold in it, signaling the approach of sunset.

"Ladies first," Aerrow gave Piper a mock bow, a glint of humor written in his green eyes. Piper giggled.

"Why, thank you Aerrow," Piper replied. They started up the steps together.

* * *

Stork was still debating whether or not to open Piper's door and check on the Finns locked inside, when the proximity alarm went off with a loud blare. The Finns locked in Piper's room resumed pounding on the door. Stork and Radarr hurried to the bridge. The Merb peered out through one of the periscopes and gave a moan of dread. Radarr chirped, tilting his furry head inquisitively.

"It's Snipe!" Stork replied, "He must have followed us all the way from terra Saharr. There's only one thing to do in a situation like this!" Stork drew himself up to his full height, as though he were steeling himself to fight the Talons. Then the Merb started rummaging around for something. He pulled out a pen and a piece of paper. Radarr mmrred confusedly.

"Write our wills."

* * *

The other Storm Hawks and the two Anphiteres Kiita and Quetzal were taking a brief rest on the steps of the pyramid; it was bigger than they'd first thought, and half of it was hidden by jungle. Piper was telling Aerrow and Junko a little about the Mayans.

"They believed in human sacrifice," Piper started, trying to catch her breath, "They would take their prisoners of war and cut out their hearts for their god." Junko winced, disgusted. Aerrow flopped down on one of the steps, panting.

"I guess the Mayans figured that if they couldn't cut out your heart, they'd get you on the stairs." The sky knight wheezed breathlessly, one hand on his ribs to suppress the ache. Piper couldn't help grinning. It was true though; the stairs weren't very wide and were rather tall. It made the climb all the more difficult. Even Weaverbird was huffing slightly.

After a few moments, the Dragoness clambered to her paws, flicking the tip of her tail impatiently. The others got to their feet (except for the Anphiteres, who had none) and continued up the sunset temple's stairs.

At the top of the stairs, the Storm Hawks regarded the entrance to the temple rather dubiously.

"It just seems too easy…" Aerrow trailed off, his green eyes narrowed.

"I don't know," Piper muttered, "I'd agree if this was the Forbidden City, but I didn't get the chance to read up on Mayan temples. I don't know what kind of traps would be set here, if any." Junko didn't say anything; he just fidgeted nervously.

Weaverbird poked her head inside, snuffing a small tongue of blue flame into the entrance. From what the Dragoness could see, the temple was empty, save for a few statues standing in the corners. Steeling himself for any hidden traps, Aerrow entered the temple.

"Looks like there's nothi-" Aerrow was cut off abruptly. A trap door had sprung open beneath his feet and he disappeared. Piper gasped and was about to follow him, but Weaverbird held her wing in front of her. She lit a few of the ancient torches hanging along the walls and entered the temple cautiously. As she set foot on one of the tiles, it slid into the floor and the trapdoor reopened. Piper hurried over and peered down the hole.

"Aerrow?" Piper called to her friend, hoping he hadn't hurt himself again. There was a moan from the bottom of the hole.

"I'm okay!" Aerrow called up, his voice muffled slightly by the thick dank air of the chamber he was in. Grabbing an unlit torch from a bracket on the wall, Piper leaped down to join Aerrow. She landed with a muffled thump. It was so dark that she couldn't see three feet in front of her. Piper called out to Aerrow again, trying to adjust her vision to the darkness.

"I'm down here." The sky knight gasped. Piper's face flushed. In her haste to find her friend, she had landed right on top of Aerrow. She was glad it was dark so Aerrow couldn't see how red her face was as she helped him up. They brushed themselves off, looking away awkwardly. At least, they thought they were; it was too dark to tell.

"It looks like someone will have to stay here and hold the switch down if we're to get you out." Weaverbird called down. Kiita gave a chirrup, and Weaverbird whistled back. Then Weaverbird slithered down the hole; Quetzal followed, and Junko leaped down somewhat less gracefully after them. Kiita had coiled up on top of the switch so the trapdoor stayed open.

Piper held out the unlit torch she had brought towards what she thought was Weaverbird's muzzle. A flash of blue flame lit the ancient brand and the chamber they were in was filled with a dim blue light. Aerrow drew his energy blades and the chamber was lit up even more. There was a doorway on the other side of the room from them, a message written around the edge in some strange hieroglyphics. Piper walked up to the closed door and ran her fingers along the ancient runes.

"I don't suppose you can read them?" Aerrow inquired hopefully. Piper squinted at the hieroglyphics and waved Aerrow closer. Holding his energy blades closer to the doorframe, he watched over her shoulder as Piper traced the letters with her delicate fingers. Finally, Piper shook her head. Weaverbird peered over the girl's shoulder, scrutinizing the Mayan text.

"It's a riddle," Weaverbird stated finally, "It says,

"_It is cold, and it is hot,_

_"It is white and it is dark,_

_"It is stone and it is wax,_

_"Its true nature is of the flesh,_

_"And its colour is red._

_"Answer this riddle to move forward. Fail and there will be no return."_

"So all we have to do is answer the riddle and the door will open?" Aerrow asked, regarding the text on the doorframe, "Piece of cake!" Weaverbird stared around the chamber, feeling the stone tiles beneath her feet.

"I don't think it's that easy…" the Dragoness trailed off, nosing the oval-shaped section in the tile. It was rather wobbly, and there was a symbol carved into it. Weaverbird examined the floor of the chamber; there were similar ovals in each tile, all with a different symbol etched into it.

"We're standing on a giant keyboard!" Weaverbird concluded, turning back to the others. They all looked down simultaneously, picking out the different glyphs on each tile.

"You're right!" Piper agreed, "But there are so many, there's no way one person can hit the right ones." She groaned in frustration. Aerrow put a hand on her shoulder.

"We should worry about solving the riddle first." Aerrow suggested, "We'll worry about how we type it in once we've figured that out." The sky knight sighed, just as frustrated as his navigator was. Aerrow was no good at riddles; he was too straightforward a thinker. Weaverbird was pacing the chamber, being careful not to activate any of the symbol keys.

"Cold and hot, white and dark, stone and wax, of the flesh…" the Dragoness mumbled the words of the riddle under her breath, turning them over in her mind. Piper was writing the riddle down in her notebook, counting out the words and pacing the rhythm of the verses. Aerrow watched over her shoulder. Junko scratched his head, and Quetzal watched all this, his dark eyes filled with curiosity.

Weaverbird stopped suddenly, clicking her claws together the way a human might snap their fingers.

"I've got it!" the Dragoness exclaimed, breaking everyone out of their respective thoughts. "Aerrow, Piper, stand over there," Weaverbird started directing them to different spots in the room so that it was divided between the four Storm Hawks. Then Weaverbird started directing each of her teammates as to which tile to step on, sometimes pressing a paw to the tiles in her area of the chamber. After what felt like forever of stepping on tiles all across the room, the door finally slid open. Breathing a simultaneous sigh of relief, the group hurried through the door into the next room.

"So, what was the answer to the riddle?" Aerrow inquired. Weaverbird chuckled.

"The Human Heart. What else?"

**Well there you have it! I got the riddle from the Book of the Dragon by Ciruelo (my favorite artist). It seemed fitting for the Mayans.**

**Anyway, Review please; I could use some ideas for other traps in the temple.**


	9. Chapter 9: The Sunset Crystal

**Yay, chappie 9 is up! I'd like to thank Eldonyx for his/her idea. I did however, alter it a bit.**

**There's some AerrowXPiper fluff in this one, if you care to see it that way. It could also be interpreted as Aerrow's overbearing leaderness or something I suppose. I like to have a little something for everyone when I can.**

_**The Sunset Crystal**_

The Storm Hawks and Quetzal found themselves in another chamber, just as large as the last one. However this time there were only four large tiles that formed a path across the room. Several smaller stone tiles circled the perimeter of the chamber. The large tiles were smooth as glass and seemed almost translucent. Piper looked down; there was more Mayan text right beneath their feet. Clearing everyone away, Weaverbird read it out loud.

"_The door will open only for the one who can brave the wrath of the elements._"

"I wonder what that's supposed to mean." Aerrow mused, a hand on his chin thoughtfully. Quetzal slithered to the wall and gripped the tail of an Anphitere statue in his mouth. He thrust it downwards and it gave with a grating of stone. As the Anphitere pulled the lever, a few of the small plain tiles moved aside and a pedestal with a strange crystal on it rose out of the gap.

"Is that it?" Junko asked, pointing at the dull grey crystal. Weaverbird shook her head.

"It's another challenge to deter robbers," the Dragoness replied, "It would seem that one of us has to carry it across those tiles to the other side without letting go. The crystal must be the key to unlock the next door, but it won't work unless you complete the challenge." Aerrow was about to volunteer, but Piper cut him off.

"No, I'll do it Aerrow. We both know I can hold onto a crystal better than anybody." She joked. Before anyone could protest, Piper strode to the pedestal and plucked the crystal off of it.

When Piper stepped on the first tile, it emitted a yellow glow. She yelped in surprise when the crystal in her hands emitted a strong gust of wind.

"Okay," Piper breathed, trying to slow her heart rate a bit, "that wasn't so bad." Aerrow and Weaverbird exchanged glances as Piper stepped onto the next tile, her blue-black hair a little messier than it was before.

The second tile glowed blue, and the next thing Piper knew, she was soaking wet. Shaking her wet hair out of her face, she stepped onto the next tile, which glowed green. The crystal in her hands grew a set of jagged spikes and became considerably heavier. The spikes dug into Piper's hands, drawing blood. It was all Piper could do not to drop the crystal right then and there.

"Piper?" Aerrow called in concern. The others had moved along the wall on the regular tiles and were level with Piper.

"I'm okay!" Piper replied through gritted teeth. Aerrow looked thoroughly unconvinced. The navigator stepped on the final tile, which emitted a red glow. The crystal in Piper's hands gradually grew warmer, until she could feel it burning her skin. Trying hard to override all the instincts that told her she should drop the stone, Piper gripped it even harder. A soft whimper escaped her; it didn't go unnoticed by the others. They were at the other side now, in front of the locked door.

As soon as she felt the crystal revert to its original state, Piper hurried off the tiles and fit the crystal into the circular hole in the door. She slumped over a little, breathing hard. Aerrow strode over to her, concern written in his green eyes. He gently gripped her hands and pulled them towards him. The sky knight hissed through his teeth at the sight of Piper's burned and scratched up hands. Piper tore off her tattered gloves and wrapped them around her hands as makeshift bandages.

"I'll be fine." Piper reassured him. Aerrow didn't look convinced, but he didn't press the matter. Besides, he didn't have time; Weaverbird, Junko and Quetzal were already heading through the door into the next room.

"I'll patch you both up after we've retrieved the crystal, Weaverbird promised, ruffling Piper's hair, "looks like I'm going to have my paws full between the two of you."

* * *

Stork had thrown on his personalized armor and Radarr had a wrench in hand, but they both hoped it wouldn't come down to a fight. Snipe's Talons were circling the Condor, shooting blasts of energy at the ship's hull. 

"Man, without the others, there's no way we can win!" Stork moaned, "We're completely outnumbered." He sighed in a doom-and-gloom kind of way and reached for the blaster controls to retaliate. There was the loud screech of crystal on metal, and Stork shot up to his full height of six feet. They were hurting his beloved Condor! Rage overcame paranoia, and Stork stormed to the hangar bay and boarded the Storkmobile. Radarr leaped onto the roll bars behind the Merb, gripping with his feet.

"That's the last straw!" Stork shrieked, "Nobody does that to my ship and gets away with it!" Opening the hangar doors, Stork shot off in his ride, Radarr clinging on for dear life.

* * *

The key crystal in the door gave a flash, and Mayan text showed up on the door, glowing a pale shade of green. Weaverbird padded over to read it, her muzzle nearly brushing the stone door. 

"It says that only one can enter the treasure chamber. That's all though." Weaverbird frowned; something didn't feel right about this. Aerrow immediately stepped forward.

"I'll go." He volunteered. The others stared at him.

"But Aerrow, what if you get hurt again?" Piper protested, worry apparent in her amber eyes. Aerrow turned to her.

"The keyword there is 'if' Piper," Aerrow firmly pointed out, "And it's not as though any of you can go. You're also hurt Piper, and I don't want to put Junko or Quetzal in any danger unnecessarily. I'd send Weaverbird, but she's so big, any motion sensing crystals might mistake her for more than one person. Besides, I'll be fine." Before the rest of them could say anything, the door opened and Aerrow stepped through. Weaverbird laid a wing on Piper's shoulder, in case the navigator tried to follow. Piper looked at the Dragoness apprehensively, and Weaverbird nodded reassuringly.

* * *

Stork was in trouble. Snipe had brought more Talons than the Merb had counted on. Radarr had run out of ammo as well. Several Talons aimed their blasters at Stork. The Merb and the sky monkey traded nervous glances. 

"This does not look good." Stork remarked to his companion. Radarr whimpered.

* * *

Aerrow expected the treasure chamber to be pitch black like the rest of the temple had been. Asides from the dim blue glow cast from his energy blades, the room was bathed in a soft golden light. There were many piles of rich golden coins lying around the room, several red and green jewels, a barrel full of cacao beans, and, what appeared to be, a bundle of long green feathers **(AN: I'll give a cookie to anyone who can figure out why the feathers are there, and what kind of bird they come from. Just review to answer. :) ) **. But what Aerrow was really looking for stood on a pedestal in the center of the treasure chamber. 

The sunset crystal looked a lot like the sunrise crystal, except that it was blue with gold patterning instead of red with silver. Aerrow was about to lift it off the pedestal, when he stopped, a frown gracing his features; it was too easy. Searching around, Aerrow found a gold idol that must have weighed around the same as the crystal. Quickly as he could, Aerrow plucked the sunset crystal out of its place and replaced it with the statue.

Apparently whatever trap was fixed into the pedestal wasn't fooled, because when the crystal was replaced with the little golden idol, several holes opened in chamber wall and water started pouring out. Aerrow tore towards the door, the water already up to his ankles.

"Everybody out!" Aerrow called as he burst into the elements chamber, "This place is filling up with water, and fast!" Grabbing a surprised Piper by the wrists, Aerrow sprinted around the perimeter of the room, Weaverbird, Quetzal, and Junko hot on their heels.

They had to start swimming when they got to the keyboard room. Aerrow kept a tight grip on the sunset crystal. Weaverbird looked up at the trapdoor despairingly.

"I'll never fit through that!" she cried, "Not if I have to carry you guys up!" Aerrow and Junko exchanged glances, and Aerrow nodded.

"I'm gonna need a boost!" Junko called to Weaverbird, flexing his powerful fingers. Weaverbird crouched so that the Wallop could clamber onto her shoulders. Careful not to let Junko fall, Weaverbird reared onto her hind legs up to her full height. The Dragoness chirruped a warning to Kiita, who was still holding the trapdoor open. Junko activated his knuckle busters, and punched a wider hole in the floor above them.

Aerrow and Piper were treading water at this point. Junko hoisted himself out through the hole. Weaverbird fell back down to all fours, struggling to keep her head above the rapidly rising torrent. Aerrow gripped Weaverbird's crest and pulled Piper and himself onto the Dragoness' neck, as her wings and back were completely submerged. Quetzal fluttered out of the keyboard chamber with some difficulty. His wings were waterlogged, but his feathers were mostly waterproof.

Weaverbird had no such luck; her long leathery wings were heavy with the water, and she could hardly lift them free. She resolutely treaded water, her lightly webbed paws paddling insistently. Aerrow gripped the Dragon's crest as tightly as he could with one hand, holding onto Piper with the other arm. Weaverbird's stiff crest was slippery with the wet. Piper threw her arms around Aerrow's neck, taking some of her weight off of his arm. Even so, Aerrow's muscles shuddered with the effort of holding them both clear of the water.

"Junko," Weaverbird gasped, "I need you to knock out as much of the floor as possible!" There was no answer from above them, but a green glow and metallic screech told them that Junko had heard. Several broken tiles plummeted into the steadily rising water around them. The Wallop looked down at them from the entrance of the temple. He looked as though he wanted to reach out to his friends and pull them up, but Weaverbird was far too heavy, and there was no way Aerrow could let go without sinking. Weaverbird continued to tread water, and Aerrow continued to struggle with holding himself and Piper out of the deluge.

Aerrow felt his fingers losing their grip on Weaverbird's crest. "Can you hold onto me yourself?" Aerrow called back to Piper. She nodded her amber eyes wide. Aerrow let go of her with his other arm, freeing his hand to grip Weaverbird's crest. When the water had risen high enough, Weaverbird hoisted herself out, Aerrow still clinging to her crest and Piper still clinging to Aerrow.

The Storm Hawks sprinted down the steps considerably faster than when they were climbing up. When they were halfway down, the water overflowed, sweeping them down the rest of the way.

When all the water drained away, Aerrow leaned against a tree, trying to catch his breath. "That was fun." He chuckled. Piper shook her head exasperatedly.

**Wow, Aerrow has one messed up sense of fun! XD The next chapter is probably going to be the last one, and then I'll move on to another one. See y'all soon; especially now that I have the rest of the week off school because of exams. Yay!**


	10. Chapter 10: Fixing Finn

**Wow, the final Chapter! Okay now I have to give the answer to the question I asked last chappie. I'm gonna have to give the cookie to Eldonyx, as she was the closest!. Hooray! Anywho, the answer was the quetzal _bird_! I know, it's cheap but I did quite clearly say the feathers came from a bird. The Anphitere Quetzal didn't really have much to do with it other than being named after the bird. Everyone else gets half a cookie as a consolation prize.**

**On with the story!**

_**Fixing Finn**_

Aerrow, Piper, Junko, Weaverbird, Kiita and Quetzal were streaking back towards the Condor. Weaverbird had helped Aerrow and Junko locate their skimmers, and they tore southward through the jungle

The sound of switchblades roared over the Storm Hawks' heads and they looked up. Weaverbird flapped her (now dry) wings and circled high above them, squinting through the sunlight. The sun was considerably lower in the sky now; they were running out of time. If they didn't hurry, they would have to live with multiple Finns for another twenty-four hours. Weaverbird shuddered at the thought.

The glint of blaster-fire caught Weaverbird's keen eyes and she turned to see the Storkmobile dodging and twisting several attacking Talons.

"Stork's getting attacked by Talons," Weaverbird reported, "And things aren't looking too good for him. We've got to get over there now!" Aerrow gritted his teeth and gave his skimmer an extra burst of speed, converting to flight mode. Piper and Junko followed suit, and Weaverbird, Kiita and Quetzal beat their wings furiously, quickly gaining altitude.

* * *

Stork had never been happier to see his teammates streaking towards him. Aerrow drew his energy blades and fired a few well aimed blasts as soon as he was in range. Several Talons going down in flames caught Snipe's attention.

"Storm Hawks!" he shouted, pounding his mace in his hand. Stork pressed a button on the dashboard of the Storkmobile and a metal fist shot out of the grate in the front, nailing Snipe in the back of the head. Aerrow couldn't help but laugh. Snipe turned back to the Merb with a snarl. Stork shot away in a flash. A chaotic battle ensued, as Aerrow found himself caught in combat with Snipe and several other Talons.

Aerrow didn't see what was happening to his teammates; he was a little preoccupied at the time. Barely managing to dodge a blow from Snipe's heavy mace, Aerrow looked to the west. The sun would set any moment now. He cast around for Stork. The Merb was near the starboard (Right) side of the Condor, fending off a group of Talons. Dodging another attack from Snipe, Aerrow blasted the Talons away from his carrier pilot.

"Stork," Aerrow called breathlessly, "You've gotta release the Finns! The sun's gonna set any minute, and we have to fix him now!" Stork nodded and landed on the runway, glad to be out of the fray. The battlefield was no place for a Merb.

There was a loud clang and the sound of metal being crushed. Aerrow looked behind him to see that Snipe's mace had crushed his skimmer's engines. Aerrow leaped off as the vehicle plummeted into the jungle. He opened his glider and hovered on an updraft, straining to see his enemy.

"Aerrow look out!" Piper screamed in alarm, but too late. A well aimed blast of energy from Snipe's crystal-studded mace caused one of the wings of Aerrow's glider to crumple and he dropped like a rock. The sky knight was about to crash through the canopy of the trees, but someone managed to snatch him out of the air just in time. Aerrow looked up. Weaverbird grinned down at him, her fangs showing slightly.

"Now what's the point of having an extra pair of wings, when you can't even maneuver with them?" Weaverbird purred, gripping her charge in her strong paws. Aerrow grinned sheepishly. Shedding his ruined glider, Aerrow awkwardly swung himself up onto Weaverbird's back so he was situated comfortably just in front of her wing-joints. He still had yet to get used to the Dragoness' lurching flight; she lunged forward slightly with every wing beat.

Aerrow held onto Weaverbird's crest with one hand, and the sunset crystal with the other. He looked down to the Condor to see Stork herding all of Finn's emotions onto the runway. Weaverbird swooped down towards them.

"Catch!" Aerrow yelled, and pitched the crystal into the midst of the Finns. They all made a mad dash for it, each of them trying to keep it for themselves. There was a bright white flash and a blast of wind, and suddenly there was only one rather dazed Finn standing on the runway. Aerrow grinned as Weaverbird made a banking turn back towards the battle. The crystal had worked!

Snipe turned his Heliblade around, Aerrow and Weaverbird following suit. Weaverbird reared her neck back, and holding onto one of her horns, Aerrow got to his feet.

Pulling both of his energy blades back, Aerrow gathered his energy, a pool of blue fire forming within him. Leaping off of his friend's back, Aerrow fired a blast of power, his Lightning Claw maneuver. Weaverbird let loose a blast of blue flame at the same time, combining her attack with Aerrow's. The controls for Snipe's Heliblade sizzled and exploded, throwing the Talon commander off of his ride. He landed on another Talon's skimmer and threw off the vehicle's original pilot.

"Next time, you Storm Hawks won't get so lucky!" Snipe snarled as he sped away, his remaining Talons hot on his heels.

"Luck has nothing to do with it, Snipe!" Aerrow and Piper exchanged grins. "Okay, maybe a little." Aerrow admitted with a shrug. The Storm Hawks, Quetzal and Kiita descended, landing on the runway of the Condor. Finn stared around, evidently disoriented.

"Where are we?" he asked, shaking the dizziness out of his head. Piper looked furious and before Aerrow could hold her back, she stalked up to Finn and backhanded him across the face.

"OW! What was that for?!" an indignant Finn picked himself up off the runway, a large red slap mark blooming on his face. Aerrow winced; it seemed Piper had finally snapped.

"_That's for stealing my crystals, and everything we've been put through because of your stupidity!_" Piper shrieked. Everyone took a few steps back from the crystal specialist. "_Do you have any idea what we had to go through just to fix you?!_" Piper prodded a finger into Finn's chest; the sharpshooter's ego seemed to have deflated under Piper's accusations.

"No, I don't," he said frankly, "Why don't you just fill me in on that?" Piper looked fit to explode. She tore the makeshift bandages off her hands, exposing the angry red burns and cuts underneath. She grabbed Aerrow by the shoulder, and pulled him forward.

"Don't drag me into this!" Aerrow flustered. Piper ignored him, thrusting her injured hands forward for Finn to see. He winced.

"And that's not all," Piper snarled, "Aerrow was nearly _suffocated_ to death by a _python_, and we _all_ nearly _drowned_ retrieving the crystal that fixed you!" Piper prodded a finger into Finn's chest hard. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Finn looked at Piper fearfully.

"Please don't kill me?" he squeaked. Piper straightened up and glared at him furiously.

"I should kill you, but I won't." Piper stalked off the runway. Everyone breathed an audible sigh of relief.

"Is she okay?" Finn muttered to Aerrow, pointing with his thumb towards the Condor's living area. Aerrow shrugged.

"I'd be more worried about yourself Finn." Aerrow chuckled, "Just wait 'till Piper organizes the chores for next week." Finn groaned, hanging his head miserably. Aerrow picked up the sunset crystal, and Piper reemerged with the sunrise crystal. They handed the crystals over to the Anphiteres.

"They belong here," Piper said to them, "besides, you guys would take better care of them than we would." Kiita took the sunrise crystal in her mouth, and Quetzal took the sunset crystal in his. They beat their wings and flew away, dissapearing into the canopy of the jungle. Piper headed back inside the Condor.

"Oh, and Finn?" Piper called, poking her head out of the hangar bay. He looked up.

"Give me back my crystals!"

**The End:D Now I have to get working on another story. I'm planning on adding a lot more PiperXAerrow fluff than I usually do, so look out for another story by me. It's either going to be 'A Matter of Wills', or "Cyclon-itis', depending on which plotbunny hits me harder. They will both however, be published at some point, and they will both feature Weaverbird.**

**See y'all at my next fic!**

**-Saerphe**


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